Standing in Our Way
by Hawk-Hotlips
Summary: Hawkeye is bitten by a rat when Margaret comes for a visit in The Swamp and loses a martini glass. While in bed he debates weither to tell Margaret something that could possibly ruin their relationship forever. Margaret worries about her reputation too.


_A/N: Lookie here! Another new fic. I have so many other fics that need finishing (most of them actually) but this it one I'd like to do and it can't wait because I might forget it. I promise, this is the last one I'll start before I finish one of my stories. Just to let you know, It's HM. Here we go...again. _

**Standing in Our Way** **By: Hawk-Hotlips**

**Chapter 1: Bitten**

There was a knock at the door. Hawkeye was waiting for this knock, because he knew it was Margaret.

This was the first time since the abandoned hut incident that Margaret decided to go and visit Hawkeye in his tent, with no one else around. He had asked her an excessive amount of times and she finally said 'yes'. He was proud that he was able to get her too.

"Come in," he said.

The door opened, and in came Margaret. The only thing that Hawkeye didn't like about Margaret was her obsession with cosmetic surgery. Between when she came in September 1950 to that moment in March 1953, it seemed that her whole face had changed. Personally, Hawkeye liked her the way she came in 1950. But she would never say that to her...unless he, she, or both of them, were dying.

"I just want to make it clear, Buster; NO funny business. If I get even the faintest idea that you're coming on to me, I will go myself and drag Edwina back here to be your nurse in _every_ OR session you will do here." Margaret said, in her usual way.

"You wouldn't do that would you? Besides, our survival rate will go down. And if you do that, I will, go myself to Indiana and drag Frank Burns back here and have our survival rate go down to twenty. But you would like him here, I know you would. He complements you while you fulfill his deepest desire, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday."

"Pierce! I-" she started, about to bite his head off, but Hawkeye just kept going.

"What? Don't you think your nurse can take on my Ferret Face? Of course since they're both girls, it might not turn out pretty."

"WHAT?" Margaret screamed, "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? IS IT SUPPOSED TO MEAN WHAT I THINK IT MEANS?..."

"Margaret, Margaret! Keep your voice down, the snipers are trying to get a night's sleep! I was just making a joke! You know a joke; I say something and you laugh?"

"Well, if all you're going to do is joke around the whole time, maybe I should leave!"

Margaret turned to the door and opened it, waiting for Hawkeye to protest. And of course he did.

"Margaret, wait! I promise I'll try not to joke!"

Hawkeye started to go after her, but she just closed the door and turned to him.

"Fine. You get **one**more chance. Not two, but one. If you use up that chance, I promise you that on your doorstep tomorrow there will be a girl. And not a regular girl, but a picture of a girl with her arms and legs cut off. And that will just be the warning."

"Fine, fine, just sit down and have a drink will you?" Hawkeye went over to the still, took two martini glasses and cleaned them on his equally dirty shirt. He then proceeded to fill them.

"Just one. I don't want to get drunk and get taken advantage of by you." she sat down on BJ's cot and was handed her glass of gasoline.

"Who, little ole me? What could I possibly do?" Hawkeye sat down, grinning, on his own cot with his own glass.

"You know what you can do," she then proceeded to take a sip and it nearly came back up. "What do you _put_ in this stuff?"

"Oh you know, a little of this, a little of that, some rat poison, the coffee here, gasoline, and things like that that kill you."

"That's disgusting," She said, taking another sip and finishing her glass. "I want another."

"The stuff here has that kind of effect; it nearly kills you and you want more. Like Frank right?"

"You know, I'd take offense to that if I didn't want anymore. Now POUR!"

Needless to say that after a few more she was plenty drunk. And of course Hawkeye tried to take advantage of her. First he went and sat down by her.

"What are you doing?" She asked, alcohol and caution changing her voice.

"Nothing," He replied, putting his arm around her.

"Don't take advantage of me." She said, the alcohol taking over as she took another sip.

"How can you tell?"

"I can't I'm drunk. To me you look like a green blob."

"In that case..." he said, taking off her jacket and trying to pull off her black turtleneck.

Immediately, she sobered up and pushed him off of the bed. He landed flat on his bottom.

"I said not to take advantage of me." she said getting up and heading toward the door.

"I'm sorry. Please Margaret, please just one more chance, please!" he remained on the floor, trying to get up.

She thought for a moment and started to say sarcastically;

"Well--"

Then it happened, the rat came out of no where and bit Hawkeye right on the hand. It pulled at the flesh for a few moments then let go. Then it took the martini glass that had fallen to the floor with Hawkeye and ran off with it.

"OWWW! OWW! OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! OW!" Hawkeye screamed suddenly.

Neither he nor Margaret had seen the rat.

"What is it? What happened?" Margaret asked worried.

She was worried for two reasons; One, for Hawkeye's well being of course. Two, she was sure the whole camp had heard his screaming and would wake up and come running. (it was about midnight and an unusual lull in the fighting made it able for people to sleep. BJ and Charles were in Post-Op checking on the patients that they did have ) How would it look for her to be there, alone with Hawkeye? It was well known that she thought that he was a perverted, dirty, man, but how would it look? Everyone would probably speculate and guess that they were dating and start making fun of her.

"Something bit me!" He grunted, trying to keep tears of pain that were forming at the moment inside his body.

"Here, let me see, let me see!" She hurried over to him. She'll just pretend that she came first. She looked at the bite mark that was bleeding heavily. "It looks like a rat bit you. We have to hurry you over to the lab and get it tested for rabies and the Plague."

"A rat!?" Hawkeye panicked, "A rat?"

"Yes a rat, now let me try to help you up."

As she helped him, he was turning his head one way and to the other.

"What happened to my martini glass? Where is it?"

Margaret got an annoyed look on her face as she got him up.

"Don't worry about that right now. We have to get that wound treated."

Before Hawkeye protested anymore, the reinforcements, Col. Potter, BJ, the rest of the usual crowd, arrived. Col. Potter and BJ came through the door while Klinger tried to hold the crowd back from coming in. They closed the door.

Col. Potter started to bombard Hawkeye and Margaret with questions;

"What happened? Why did you yell? Why is Major Houlihan here?"

"Col, it looks like a rat bit him." Margaret answered for Hawkeye.

"If your right, and it was a rat that bit him, we have to get that wound treated and tested before anything else bad happens."

All Hawkeye could say was something about wondering about the glass and why wouldn't anyone go find it. (He was in shock)

"That's what I've been trying to tell him, Colonel. But he won't move!"

They finally managed to get Hawkeye out the door. He still was asking;

"Where's the glass? Why won't anyone go look for it?" in a small voice.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

_What do you think? Should I go on? R&R as usual please._


End file.
